Food addiction: A brief overview A current and major growing threat to the worldwide public health is the obesity epidemic. One proposal for certain types of obesity, such as those associated with binge eating disorder is that the individual suffers from a food addiction. A food addiction can be described as compulsive overeating by an individual and their lack of control of their food intake. The purpose of this paper is to describe the neurobiological bases of food addiction and how this relates
activities, blood flow to that area increases. When scanning people that were happily in love Helen Fisher (2008) had found activity in a little factory near the base of the brain called the ventral tegmental area, part of the brain’s reward system. There was also activity in some cells known as the A10 cells that produce dopamine and spray it to many brain regions.
Personality: a Neurobiological Model of Extraversion Underlying the question of whether brain equals behavior is the possibility that one's personality may be understood on a neurobiological level. Personality affects how a person will behave in certain situations. Peoples' attitudes towards their environments, their dispositions, personal preferences and dislikes all help determine their everyday actions. If behavior is controlled by the nervous system, these factors which make up a person's
has been somewhat controversial, but considerable data suggest that opiates can activate the same brain reward system as that mediating reward from psychomotor stimulants. Direct support for this hypothesis comes from a study showing that ventral tegmental morphine injections can partially substitute for intravenous cocaine injections (Bozarth and Wise 1986).
sides of the thalamus. It includes a group of brain structures that surround the brainstem such as the amygdala, hypothalamus, thalamus and hippocampus. These are the main structures, but there are also some minor related areas such as the cingulate gyrus, ventral tegmental area, basal ganglia, and the prefrontal cortex. Function: The limbic system is responsible for many human emotions or drives and particularly those that relate to our basic survival. Some examples would be fear, anger and emotions
We all fall in love at some point in our lives whether it be a passion, faith, or another person. Falling in love is a natural human behavior. It ensures the continuance of the human race through reproduction. Love is often considered a mystery because of its unexplainable feelings. It is the personal and affectionate relationship between two people. Researchers have discovered the biological reasons behind falling in love. The brain controls the signals that release chemicals and hormones in your
is known for its addictive properties (Letchworth et al., 2001). Therapeutic and medicinal techniques utilized to relieve drug effects and drug seeking behavior have become increasingly popular in the scientific community. In general the affected areas during or after cocaine use have been identified subsequently providing research into the physiological aspects of cocaine use. Research to determine drug-seeking and relapse is imperative due to the prevalence of cocaine use and the rehabilitative
Her pioneering work into the neural substrates of love identified three distinct yet overlapping systems for love: the hypothalamus for lust, the ventral tegmental area (VTA) for romantic love and the ventral pallidum for attachment. And in terms of confusing love and lust, she says that the two are very closely aligned, both in experience and biology.” (kayt sukel http://bigthink.com/world-in-mind/love-vs-lust-and-the-brain
Many individuals experience a compulsive act towards something which causes harm to them and sometimes even those around the individual. Addiction is the term used to describe such behavior and it eventually causes many individuals to lose control over their own actions (Tracy, 2016). Excessive engagement in addictive behaviors or the use of substances is caused by the brain reward effect of it which causes “neuroadaptation circuitry leading to impaired control over further” substance or behavior
Our ability to “feel good” involves brain neurotransmitters in this reward system. This reward system consists of dopamine-releasing neurons in areas of the brain called the ventral tegmental area (VTA), the nucleus accumbens, and the amygdala. The VTA dopamine system is strongly associated with the reward system of the brain. Dopamine is released in areas such as the nucleus accumbens and prefrontal cortex as a result of rewarding experiences such as food, sex, and neutral stimuli that become associated
Paragraph one intro-What is the origin of this universal feeling known as love? It all starts with the history of love. There really is no marked beginning of this feeling that has no evidence of its existence. It could have begun scientifically with Neanderthals, or even religiously with Adam and Eve-the theories and stories are endless. Some psychiatrists claim it begins with the Oedipal suppression, where the son feels a form of love for their mother just as their daughter would feel the same
The factors are heavily supported by empirical scientific data. For instance, the feeling of happiness is created and regulated biologically by the release of the neurotransmitter, dopamine. Dopamine is produced in the ventral tegmental area of the brain. Subsequently, it is released during pleasurable situations and motivates one to seek out pleasurable activity (Bromberg-Martin, Matsumoto, & Hikosaka, 2010). Thus, dopamine is essential to experiencing the feeling of happiness
disease, nearly all patients showed signs of improvement when Levadopa is used. Parkinson’s disease affects many area of the brain, this is because several different cells types degenerate and many different systems are affected. The various different chemical systems affected in the brain are: Substancia Negra, Locus Cereleus, Raphe Nuclei, Ventral Tegmental Area and Nuclues Basalus. () The area that is most affected in Parkinson’s disease, is the Substancia Negra. The cell in this part of the brain produce
Anita Mercado Abnormal Psychology Assignment 2: Chapters 2 & 3 Scientists have been focusing on the impact of genes on behavior and the development of psychological disorders. This research has contributed to the understanding of many disorders, specifically substance-related disorders. In the case study of Ellis, a 30-year-old African American male, the seriousness of substance-related disorders is undeniable. Ellis has been crippled by his long history of heroin addiction that has rendered him
nucleus of the thalamus is situated in areas 4 and 6, that is, located in the front of the motor and premotor cortices of the frontal lobe. The medial part of this nucleus (magnocellular part) projects to the ventral medial orbital portion of the prefrontal lobe (Kringelbach, 2005). This particular portion of the prefrontal cortex is called the orbitofrontal cortex of the brain and, it consists of Brodmann area 10, 11 and 47. It receives inputs from the ventral visual stream, and, inputs from the taste
Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (RBD) is a disorder that is characterized by failure to exhibit muscle paralysis or atonia during REM sleep. Along with lack of muscle atonia, patients with RBD display behaviors of “acting out” their dreams, which can be harmful to themselves or others around them (Gagnon, Postuma, Mazza & Montplaisir, 2006, p. 425). It has been reported that the dreams are usually very vivid nightmares or close to them and are usually violent, which are expressed
Manifestation and clinical diagnosis of postpartum depression The common symptoms include mood swings, mild elation, tearfulness, irritability, fatigue, and confusion (Pearlstein 2009). As a clinical diagnosis a study proposes the diagnostic criteria for a Major Depressive Episode (MDE) which verify a constant depression for a period of 2 weeks or anhedonia, also 4 of the following aspects need to happen such as change in appetite, sleep problems, psychomotor agitation or retardation, feelings of
produced by relatively very few nerve cells, around 400,000 in the brain (Schultz 2007). While nerve cells can be found all over the body, the ones that produce dopamine are all concentrated in the brain. More specifically, the substania nigra and ventral tegmental which make up the basal ganglia in the midbrain as well as the hypothalamus, located right above the
Obesity is a health epidemic that has taken over America and will progressively get worse if we don’t fight back. It is the buildup of excess fat causing you to become severely overweight increasing the risk to your health. More than one out of every three U.S adults are obese and one out of every six children. Body Mass Index (BMI) is used to measure obesity. Determining how tall and heavy one is it correlates with the amount of fat on ones body. For an adult there are four classifications from
Humans are environmentally and genetically predisposed to developing a motivated addictive behavior. Addiction is a brain disease and a behavior. All behaviors are choices. Choices that adolescences make at a young age directly affect the outcomes of their futures. Many factors contribute to an adolescence becoming an addict or exhibiting a drug seeking behavior. Nearly all drugs of abuse increase dopamine release. Dopamine is an important neurotransmitter in drug abuse and addiction. Dopamine